EP adopts report on BiH in spite of criticism from Croatian MEPs

In European Parliament, MEPs adopted the EU's report on Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday. Croatian MEPs had objected to the report because it fails to mention Bosnia and Herzegovina's three constituent peoples.

The resolution by the rapporteur Paul Rangel, which does not mention the rights of the constituent peoples, was adopted by 483 votes to 73, with 133 abstentions. HDZ MPs Karlo Ressler, Tomislav Sokol, Sunčana Glavak and Željana Zovko voted against the resolution, as did SDP MPs Romana Jerković, Predrag Fred Matić, Biljana Borzan and Tonino Picula. Croatian Conservative Party MP Ruža Tomašić and independents Mislav Kolakušić and Ivan Vilibor Sinčić abstained, while IDS's Valter Flego voted in favor of the resolution.

The European Parliament "regrets the fact that BiH continues to violate the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to implement the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights with regard to combating discrimination and ensuring democratic elections in the country, which is a precondition for starting EU accession negotiations," the resolution reads.

MEPs also called for the implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and the BiH Constitutional Court "without delay". The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in five separate judgments that BiH discriminates against its citizens by restricting their right to participate in elections by ethnicity or place of residence, while the BiH Constitutional Court has confirmed the role of parliamentary houses as the legitimate representatives of all three of the constituent peoples.

Speaking ahead of the vote Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković commented on the need for election reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina: "We feel that political institutions, political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina, need to reach an agreement on their own regarding the reform of the election system. One that will allow the entire architecture of the election system in Bosnia and Herzegovina to be more just. It is a very clear concept for Bosnia and Herzegovina's well-being and for its path towards the European Union, and in that regard Croatia is here to advocate for her as a friend and neighbor and supports her 300 percent."

Source: HRT